6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Thank You Beast, You Are Kinder Than You Look...", March 20, 2010
Thank you Angela Barrett, for reminding me why you are one of my favorite children's illustrators of all time. With delicate figures, moody scenery, exquisite detail, striking composition, and a muted though rich palette of colors, this may well be the quintessential picture book version of "Beauty and the Beast." Seriously, there aren't enough adjectives in the world to describe how good this lady is.
Max Eilenberg provides the narrative, basing it on the traditional French fairytale "Le Belle et le Bette" by Charles Perrault, concerning a merchant with three daughters who looses his fortune, takes a forbidden rose from a magical garden, and finds himself forced to give up his youngest daughter Beauty to the terrible Beast in repayment for his theft.
Beauty agrees to dwell in the Beast's magnificent castle, and even comes to enjoy his company despite his hideous visage, but is troubled by his marriage proposals every night: she does not love him, and her constant denials are a source of constant pain to the Beast. When she begs to return home to see her father, the Beast gives her permission to go - provided she keeps her promise to return within the week.
Of course, you already know how it ends, but Eilenburg manages to keep the story fresh and gives the story a few little personal touches. Beauty's family name is "Fortune" and her father Mr Fortune loves to show pictures of his daughters to anyone who cares to listen (and some who don't!) Beauty's sisters Hermione and Gertrude are nasty pieces of work in this particular version, begging Beauty to delay her departure in the hopes that she'll be eaten by the Beast on her return. Yikes!
He uses elegant but thankfully simple prose, not excessive describing everything, but allowing Barrett to speak with her pictures. Another innovation (though I've seen it done elsewhere, as in Cameron Dokey's
Belle) is to set the story in the nineteenth century, when "money, convention and appearance meant perhaps even more than they do now."
But of course it's Angela Barrett's romantic and ornate illustrations that make this particular retelling so magical. Barrett takes us from the brightness and clutter of the Fortunes' original home, to the sparseness and darkness of their little cottage, and finally to the gorgeous castle where the Beast resides. The dining room for example, is hung with tapestries of a dark forest, parted at intervals to reveal windows and the stars outside, and the vast floor is covered with candlesticks hewn in the shapes of strange mystical creatures. Behind the walls, we can see the Beast watching Beauty and her father through a peephole. Later, Beauty goes exploring the gardens, finding hedge mazes, boat houses, pagodas, orchards and fountains, all so large in scope and size that Beauty seems miniscule by comparison, as does the Beast, whose figure can be seen watching her from afar.
As for our leads, Beauty has kindness and intelligent in her pretty face, and the Beast is truly a spectacle! Somewhere between a giant cat and a bear, this Beast also has a long prehensile tail and long horn-like ears that give him a rather demonic aspect. Bassett can portray him as either domineering or pitiable, but he's always otherworldly and unnerving.
Also worth noting is the creative way in which the pictures are presented; sometimes as full double-spreads, often as small borderless vignettes that the text is shaped around. There is an especially evocative series of panels that show Mr Fortune's sad return home. We see his tiny black figure in the distance through the window at the white landscape of snow; in each panel he grows closer and closer, till we can see the fateful red rose hidden within the folds of his waistcoat.
If there is a slight flaw, it's that the text is lengthy and the pictures are often small, relegated to borders or panels when they should dominate. Often we get double-spreads of text which may test the patience of very young readers - but then, who wants to waste a book like this on children! Girls will love the beauty of the gowns and gardens, boys will love the danger and energy of the Beast, adults will appreciate the mystery and atmosphere that each picture creates. This is certainly one of the best renditions of this particular fairytale out there, with illustrations that deserve to be absorbed and enjoyed for a long time.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Beautiful Barrett Book, May 25, 2007
This review is from: Beauty and the Beast (Hardcover)
As usual, it is the elegant, spare and painterly drawings that make the books illustrated by Angela Barrett. They border on the surreal. My only small "complaint" is that there aren't enough full or two-page spreads featuring her illustrations! It seemed a lot of them were relegated to the borders. But, the book is definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of hers, or a fan of beautifully illustrated children's books.
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